Asia - Kuuk&Travel

Vietnam: what things disappointed us vs. what made us want to come back for more!

On Wednesday February 8th, 2017Thursday May 3rd, 2018 by Kaśka&Michał Posted in Asia, VietnamTagged beach, Bitexco Financial Tower, bread, cau lau, cheat, Chinese, Coconut Tree, Da Lat, Dalat, French colony, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hoa Lo, Hoi An, hot pot, kaszanka, lampions, Lunar New year, market, mountain, Museum, noodle, pancake, paradise, Phu Quoc, pierogi, prawn, prison, pristine, roll, rubbisg, Sapa, soup, temple, Tet, tourist, Vietnam, Vietnamese, yellow bird8 Comments

Before going to Vietnam we kind of couldn’t wait for this experience counting the days until we got there. We heard a lot about Vietnamese cuisine considered to be one of the best in Asia, we heard about friendly and hospitable people we were going to meet there and we hoped that it would be less touristy than Thailand. We got a little disappointed by some situations and people and we thought that at some point Vietnam turned out to be jinxed in our case (especially we had the impression that we had bad luck with people that we were coming across during our journey). Later we changed our minds a little bit and found some pluses in regards to people, tourism and Vietnamese cuisine.

Continue reading “Vietnam: what things disappointed us vs. what made us want to come back for more!” →

Coconut Tree Prison on Phu Quoc island – Hell on Earth!

On Tuesday February 7th, 2017Sunday January 21st, 2018 by Kaśka&Michał Posted in Asia, VietnamTagged American, American war, carcel, Coconut Tree, death, disembowel, electrocution, hammer, Indochina war, jail Phu Quoc, killings, martyr, murder, nail, prisión, prizon, torture, Vietnam war, więzienie3 Comments

We are all well aware of atrocities of the Vietnam War – there is no doubt about it. This war was hell taking place in the terrain of today’s Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. During the very same war called by the Vietnamese ‘’the American war’’ there was a prison which functioned in Phu Quoc Island until 1973, the jail where the Americans were sending tens of thousands of captives – it was the cruelest prison of the Vietnam war. It was at that time the prisoners were burned alive, had their teeth knocked out, had nails hammered in different parts of their bodies, had their genitals crushed… This post is about the true Hell on Earth …

Continue reading “Coconut Tree Prison on Phu Quoc island – Hell on Earth!” →

Vietnamese New year – how is it celebrated in Hoi An?

On Tuesday February 7th, 2017Sunday November 19th, 2017 by Kaśka&Michał Posted in Asia, VietnamTagged 2017, altar, Anbang, ancestors, Banh Tet, beach, cau lau, Chinese, ciasto, colonial, Da Nang, death, dziedzictwo, French, gifts, gio lua, Hoi An, holiday, homestay, karaoke, kleisty ryæ, Kwiatkowski, lampions, lampiony, Light Festival, Lunar calendar, Lunar New year, mandarin, Marble Mountains, Mickey Mouse plant, New Year, ochna integerrima, palenie banknotów, Rok Koguta, Rooster Year, sajgonki, spring rolls, sticky rice, styl kolonialny, style, temple, Tet, tree, UNESCO, vietnamese sausage, Vietnam, Wietnamski Nowy Rok, wishes, world heritage12 Comments

Tet Nguyen Dan (known as ” Tet ”) is the most important Vietnamese holiday. This is the period when the Vietnamese celebrate the Lunar New Year (the date is taken from the lunar calendar). It is a movable feast, which falls at the end of January or in early February – at exactly the same time as the Chinese New Year. This year the Vietnamese have celebrated the New Year on January 28. It is said that the celebration lasts normally 3 days, but in practice we saw it continued up to 1 week and it significantly differed from the typical New Year celebration in Europe. There are no grand balls and parties, it rather resembles the Polish Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, when gifts are handed in to relatives who gather together at a big table covered with lots of nice food. Let’s have a closer look at it then 🙂

Continue reading “Vietnamese New year – how is it celebrated in Hoi An?” →

Crazy architecture of Da Lat – come in and feel like you were in Barcelona!

On Monday February 6th, 2017Sunday November 19th, 2017 by Kaśka&Michał Posted in Asia, VietnamTagged 100 roofs, Antoni, architect, architecture, architekt, architektura, art, bar, Barcelona, cafe, Cataluna, crazy house, Da Lat, Dalat, Dang Viet Nga, Gaudi, guesthouse, Hang Nga, Ho Chi Minh, labyrinth, maze bar, pokój, room, szalony dom, Truong Chinh, work of art8 Comments

Coming to Vietnam we would never even think that you can discover there ”crazy ” buildings inspired by a Catalan architect, Antonio Gaudi. Feeling for a moment like in Barcelona, and what’s more, sleeping in such a climate, or drinking beer in a ‘’fairy tale cafe’’ is really ‘something’! In the city of Da Lat, which turned out to be the most unlucky one for us (which we will write about shortly), we could feel a little satisfaction in being right there and it was thanks to the so-called Crazy House (Hang Nga Guesthouse) and 100 Roofs Cafe / Maze Bar!

Continue reading “Crazy architecture of Da Lat – come in and feel like you were in Barcelona!” →

Swastika on marble statues of Buddha in Da Nang! Where does it come from?

On Friday February 3rd, 2017Friday June 29th, 2018 by Kaśka&Michał Posted in Asia, VietnamTagged Am Phu, Buda, Budda, Buddha, carve, cave, cavern, Chinese, cueva, Da Nang, Droga do Raju, hell, Hoi An, Huyen Khong, jaskinia, Marble, motorbike, mountain, Nazi, Ngu Hanh Son, pagoda, Road to Paradise, scooter, sign, signo, simbolo, swastika, swastyka, symbol, temple, Thuy Son4 Comments

Swastika for most of us has been a symbol of Nazi concepts. Germany during the 2nd World War completely usurped this sign and left it with its negative connotation up to present times. Why did we start to wonder whether this symbol has always been associated with nazism? Well, we went to a place called Marble Mountains located near Hoi An in Da Nang and surprisingly we found the sign of swastika on the marble statues of Buddha, and exactly in the center of his chest .. besides, the symbol was also illustrated separately and it was quite big, so it was not difficult to notice it .. at first it seemed abhorrent for us, then later awoke our curosity and we wanted to find out more about it … and dig into the history of the sign..

Continue reading “Swastika on marble statues of Buddha in Da Nang! Where does it come from?” →

Why was Hoa Lo Prison called ”Hanoi Hilton Hotel” by its American inmates?

On Friday February 3rd, 2017Sunday November 19th, 2017 by Kaśka&Michał Posted in Asia, VietnamTagged 1975, Americans, Amerykanie, bombardment, carcel, cruel, cruelty, estadounidense, freedom, French colonialists, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh, Hoa Lo, independence, Indochina, jail, nothern vientam, pilot, prisión, prison, revenge, Saigon, shocking, souther vietnam, USA, Vietnam, Vietnam war, Wietnam Północny, Wietnam Południowy, więzienieLeave a comment

Hoa Lo Prison in Hanoi was built by the French in 1896 in Phu Khanh village. The building was one of the largest prisons built by French colonialists in Indochina. They jailed political revolutionists and patriots there. Many leaders of the government and the Vietnamese Communist Party were imprisoned there. From 1964 to 1973 Hoa Lo Prison confined American pilots shot down or arrested during the bombing of northern Vietnam. The most shocking for us was the fact that the prison got named ‘’Hanoi Hilton Hotel’’ by its American inmates. Sharing with you our feelings about it in a moment.

Continue reading “Why was Hoa Lo Prison called ”Hanoi Hilton Hotel” by its American inmates?” →

Magical Sapa and its surroundings – mountains, rice fields and much more!

On Thursday February 2nd, 2017Friday November 24th, 2017 by Kaśka&Michał Posted in Asia, VietnamTagged amazing, animals, arroz, Ba Be, beautiful, campo, cat cat, chicken, children, countryside, fields, hmong, landscape, Lao Cai, Lao Chai, lunch, market, mountains, north, paddy, pola, rice, ryż, Sapa, slaughter, terrace, terraza, tour, trekking, tribe, Van Tan, Vietnam, view, village4 Comments

When visiting the north of Vietnam it’s worth stopping for a moment at one of the places that will delight us with their unique ambience. Cooler mountainous areas with rice fields in the most known Sapa, Ba Be or some other less known places in the area allow you to escape from the crowded cities and get to know local culture, customs, visit small villages, be a part of this picturesque world! The hotels do not have the central heating, but there will bea heated mattress waiting for you on your bed so you will not get cold! And you will pay 10USD per night for a double room 🙂

Continue reading “Magical Sapa and its surroundings – mountains, rice fields and much more!” →

Waking up in Descending Dragon Bay!

On Saturday January 28th, 2017Friday November 24th, 2017 by Kaśka&Michał Posted in Asia, VietnamTagged 2 day cruise, Amazing Cave, bahia, Bai Chay, boat, bote, cabin, canoa, canoe, cooking class, cruise, cueva, delicious food, Duck Islet, farma, Fight Cocks, fish, food, Gia Lam, Ha Long Bay, Hanoi, Incense Burner Islet, kabina, kajak, kajuta, kayak, local bus, łódź, minivan, Moon Light, motorbike, nadar, overnight cruise, oyster, pearl, Pearl farm, perła, rejs, sajgonki, Sapa, spring rolls, Stone Dog Islet, Sung Sot Cave, Surprising Cave, Swan Islet, swim, train, Tuan Chau, Vietnam, view, viewpoint, vino, Vietnam, wine, wino, Zaskakująca Jaskinia, Zatoka Schodzacego Smoka6 Comments

Just imagine that you spend a night on a boat in a cozy cabin being surrounded by 1,900-2000 rocky islands and islets with caves and grottoes .. And in the morning what wakes you up is an unearthly view from your cabin window and it turns out to be one of 7 New Wonders of Nature… Ha Long Bay or Descending Dragon Bay is situated in the Northeast/Dong Bac region of Vietnam and it has been considered the UNESCO World Heritage site since 1994. This incredible place is visited daily by a large number of tourists, who most often go there for 4/6/8h trips looking from the distance like herrings packed in small boats entering the bay. They all are taken to the same place, so called Surprising Cave, the most spectacular cave in the bay. We did not want to make this kind of hop-on-hop-off trip in a cramped boat. Instead we decided to establish a closer contact with the Ha Long Bay and spend there almost two days and one night – the boat cruise provided us with many unforgettable memories!

Continue reading “Waking up in Descending Dragon Bay!” →

Laos – the things that surprised us…

On Thursday January 26th, 2017Wednesday January 25th, 2023 by Kaśka&Michał Posted in Asia, Burma/Myanmar & LaosTagged Buddha Park, capital, Chao Anouvong Park, cheap, COPE, Don Det, Don Khon, food, French, Hilux, jedzenie, karaoke, Lao, Laos, Luang Prabang Vientiane, Mekong, motorbike, Pak Beng, Pakse, Patuxai, people, Phonsavan, Sikaset Museum, Southeast Asia, temple, That Luang, Toyota, transport, Vang Vieng, whiskey, whisky3 Comments

Previously we knew Laos only from stories. Firstly, we heard that this is an extremely cheap country. Secondly, that we would easily be struck by poverty as it is the case in Cambodia or Myanmar.. Hmm, we started to doubt it as soon as we arrived there and noticed Toyota Hilux vans and other cars of leading automotive brands passing the roads here and there, even in small villages. There are very few old cars on the roads, the rest of them look like brand-new ones. What’s more? We also heard that Lao people are extremely open and communicative (resembling Sri Lankan people in this way).. Hmm, well, and here again we have a doubt .. So how does it really look like?

Continue reading “Laos – the things that surprised us…” →

Vang Vieng – caving, canoeing and much more – an ideal place for active people

On Wednesday January 18th, 2017Wednesday January 25th, 2023 by Kaśka&Michał Posted in Asia, Burma/Myanmar & LaosTagged #Bluelagoon, #Changcave, #elephantcave, #Jangcave, #KhamPhouk, #Lusicave, #Vangvieng, #Watercave, balloon, canoe, cave, cueva, jaskinia, kajak, Laos, Mekong, riverside, tour, trekking, tubing, zipline5 Comments

Vang Vieng is a city in Laos labelled as a place for party animals and sports addicts. Indeed, there is no shortage of bars with loud music played every day until 1:00am, and you can spot night life at the Mekong River near the wooden bridge, but you can also find some places where nature is conducive to challenges, extreme sports , exploring caves, or trekking … One thing is certain – it’s impossible to get bored in this small city, and for sure everyone will find something for themselves!

Continue reading “Vang Vieng – caving, canoeing and much more – an ideal place for active people” →

Kucharz i poliglotka w podróży. Dwie pasje i jeden blog.

Category: Asia